Immeasurable
by Crying For This World
Summary: They began afraid of each other. They end up in love. But when Samus suddenly falls ill, her new side might just end up ripping them apart again, and destroying the one it took so long to take into her arms. SamusXZelda. Rated T for dark themes.
1. Intrigued

**_Immeasurable_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter One:<strong> Intruiged_

"She's quite the interesting one, isn't she?"

Zelda started, brushing back a couple of auburn strands from her face in order to follow Marth's gaze. And there she stood, the subject in question, with one steely arm bracing herself against the wall, head bowed, obscured gaze probably somewhere on the floor. Samus Aran. Quite the interesting one indeed.

"Doesn't she intrigue you, though?" The Altean prompted, eyes glinting with curiosity. Zelda gave him a wry smile, a little uncertain of how to answer. She trusted Marth. He was a fellow royal and he had always been under her arm to offer support, although his manner was far from patronizing. He didn't judge her for her aloofness when it came to modern technology, or her misunderstandings of the more common lifestyle undertaken by the majority of the smashers at the mansion. She was a princess, and it set her apart, but he had always strived to help her close the gap.

But even after two and a half months at the mansion, she didn't think she was ready to tell him. Part of her felt guilty. He was a closer friend to her than Link, who had always been at her side, although perhaps a little too protective over her. In truth, the hero was just like everyone else. Courteous, but unwilling to drop his guard around her. Marth was different, and the only one she would really consider a soul mate, which made it all the worse that she could not find the confidence to confide in him.

"So?"

She answered cautiously. "A little." And inwardly winced.

"Oh really?" he replied with a teasing look. "You don't sound so confident in yourself, princess."

There was something. Everyone else referred to her by her title. Only Marth used it as a joke.

She smiled. "You're irritatingly observant."

"Maybe," he said, "but you've been staring at the wall for about ten minutes. You think I can't tell you're distracted?"

"I'm nervous, actually," she corrected him with mock severity.

"Not surprising. You've never fought alongside Samus, have you?"

"I've watched her fight from the stands," Zelda muttered, face heating uncomfortably. She kept her gaze pinned to the ground, away from the armorsuited prodigy in question. "She's quite amazing."

"Well if fifteen victories in a fortnight isn't amazing then what is?"

"The day you decide to stop wearing a tiara and man up," Zelda put in, smirking.

"It's not a tiara. It's a very feminine-looking crown."

"Of course."

"Hey, I don't _have_ to cheer you on. If you keep this up, I may be inclined to throw something at your head from the stands instead." Zelda looked crossly at him, and he grinned. "Then Samus would hate you for collapsing unexpectedly during the match and leaving her on her own."

"I expect she'd do fine without me," Zelda sighed, feeling suddenly rather depressed. She had trained hard to become a talented fighter, but talent alone wasn't enough. Only the extraordinary earned their places in the top ranks, and Samus, currently at number one, was far out of Zelda's league.

"Don't worry, I don't stand up to her either, so don't feel like you're the weak link in the team. It isn't you- it's her. She's practically superhuman."

"Quite." Zelda nodded miserably. "But I respect her, and I don't want her to disrespect me…as childish as that is."

"No, I understand, but if she's anything as just as they say she is, then she won't judge you."

Zelda smiled gratefully, although there was one detail he had missed. She was a princess, and although he found that easy to forget, she was pretty sure Samus wouldn't. The bounty hunter would look at her and see a naïve brat with money and an easy life, just like everyone else did. What was worse, Zelda could not disagree- she was rich, she had, up until the Twilight incident, had an easy life. And yes, she was naïve. Horribly naïve. What was there in her to respect?

"Uh-oh, you're on, Zelda," Marth said quickly. He pulled her into a brief hug. "Good luck."

She looked ahead and saw Samus, watching expectantly from behind her blank visor. The sight was oddly intimidating. Zelda felt her heart throb with anxiety as she pulled away from Marth and went to join her team mate's side. Once there, blinding flash enveloped them, and her surroundings were snatched away.

* * *

><p>The light faded, and up came the roar of the crowd. For a group of thirty one, they were noisy alright. Zelda glanced around. They were on a small stage- the battlefield- with a couple of platforms hovering overhead and the bright evening sun blaring down on them. Directly opposite were Ike and Captain Falcon, two well-built, hardy fighters. Between them there was the ideal balance of agility, strength and speed. Zelda bit her lip, gloved hands curling into tense fists. She tried to think of Marth in a bid to calm herself, but her mind kept slipping back to Samus, and what she would think of her if she failed…<p>

Her thoughts were scattered as the voice of Master Hand came booming through the speakers, "This is going to be one difficult battle, ladies and gentlemen! This month's most seasoned fighters are evidently raring to go…but the question is, who wants to win more? Shall we find out?"

The crowd roared in agreement.

"Then fighters, get ready! Three…"

Zelda snuck a glance to her right at Samus, who stood with the sunlight glinting magnificently from her armorsuit, perfectly poised for battle…

"Two!" The crowd joined in the countdown with hungered, frenzied cries. "One..."

"Go!" The sun glinted off polished metal into Zelda's eyes as Samus broke into a run. Adrenaline kicked the Hylian into focus, and she charged after her into the fight. She was barely thinking as she watched Captain Falcon leap from a higher platform over Samus' head and towards her, fist drawn back and flaming. However, he was caught mid-air by a brutal blast from the bounty hunter's arm cannon, and went skidding across the floor. Now alert, Zelda clicked her fingers and sent Din's fire hurtling at him. It erupted on contact, and he was tossed further back towards the stage rim. Zelda made to run at him, but felt the heavy hilt of Ike's sword crack against the side of her head suddenly and collapsed in pain.

She was on her back, with the world blurring in and out of focus above her, when she saw the shape of Samus step over her, blocking the sunlight. She heard he bounty hunter cursing savagely, but couldn't quite make out the words. She could only watch as Ike launched himself at her, but took a violent blow to the gut from Samus and was sent flying off in the other direction instead. There was suddenly a hand, thick and cold in hers, gripping firmly and tugging her back to her feet.

The world dipped and reeled. Samus' hand did not leave hers until her view had pulled itself back into focus again. But when it did, the bounty hunter was gone, immersed in the fight once more. Zelda gritted her teeth determinedly, fuelled by the need to make up for her failure. Magic pulsed down her arms and into her fists. She heard rapid footsteps thundering towards her from behind and turned to face Falcon head on. He charged up a punch and soared at her. Narrowly dodging, she got behind him and lashed out with both hands, releasing her power. He blocked one fist but the other caught his face, and sparks crackled into his eyes. Yelping, he jumped back, right into the butt of Samus' arm cannon.

She released a charged shot into his spine, and with a cry, he was blasted off stage. But in the second that Samus had pulled the trigger, Ike had run up behind her and leapt skyward with his sword raised, ready to come down on top of her. Zelda stared, horrified, as he dropped, arcing Ragnell downwards, about to-

A thought hit her. Zelda clicked her fingers, igniting a new ball of Din's fire and sending it straight at Ike. He was knocked off course, sent plummeting down onto one of the platforms instead. She glanced at Samus. There was no acknowledgement of what had just happened, no movement or gesture. Pushing the disappointment to the back of her mind, Zelda jumped up to where Ike was lying, only to be swept off her feet again. He had sprung up unexpectedly and kicked her legs out from underneath her, and now stood with Ragnell posed to strike, but then there was the glint of sunlight on metal in the corner of her eye as he brought he blade down, and a sickening crunch as the tip plunged through Samus' armorsuit instead.

Heavy, synthesized breaths cut through the silence. Zelda opened her eyes to find Samus leaning over her, and could just see, through the green-tinted visor, a pair of sky-blue pupils dilated in agony. And then Samus collapsed against her, and the crowd broke out into chaos. There was a flash, and the three of them were teleported off stage.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe it," Zelda said miserably. Marth smoothed his hand across her shoulders in an attempt to provide comfort. She clearly wasn't hungry, so with his free hand, he slid her plate from underneath her and stacked it on top of his empty one.<p>

"Is everything alright?" Link asked as he approached, sounding concerned as always. He seated himself on the other side of her and glanced questioningly over her head at Marth.

"She thinks it was her fault…the Samus incident," Marth informed him quietly.

"Well it was, wasn't it?" Zelda grumbled, having overheard.

"Your Highness, you mustn't take responsibility for what happens to other people. That's my job," Link said. He always spoke gently to her, as if anxious that he might cause her offence. It always irked her, but he evidently didn't know better, and she was, at this point, too miserable to care. She gave him a weak smile instead.

"Thank you, Link. I appreciate your concern, both of you, but if you wouldn't mind, I think I might like a brief while alone," she said. Marth nodded. Link looked positively injured. "This isn't the fault of either of you- I enjoy your company. However, I simply need a moment to collect myself."

"Are you sure, Your Highness?" Link said, with the ever-present twinkle of naïvety in his eye.

"Quite sure, Link. Do not burden yourself with concern for my safety. I believe I am quite capable of self-protection."

"My apologies- I'm obsessing. I will not insult your capabilities again, Princess."

"It's quite alright," Zelda said reassuringly, at least glad that he was reviewing his manner towards her for a change. "Now, if you'll excuse me…I may return to my room for a while."

* * *

><p>Samus really was interesting. Two hours ago she had been stabbed. Two hours onward and she was back on her feet again. Zelda wondered what kind of technology was capable of fixing an injury so severe. In Hyrule, only spells and certain potions could seal wounds, but apparently neither existed in the Smash Universe. Only machines, which were far beyond Zelda's understanding, were used. Maybe Samus' suit had healed her? That was a machine, after all, and by the looks of it, a pretty complex one.<p>

Only once had Zelda seen her without the suit on. She had hard eyes, and didn't smile, but her hair was bright and blonde, and fell nicely around her face, which was cut out with sharp, beautiful features. All of that, in combination with her shapely figure, made her irresistible to the more obnoxious inhabitants of the mansion. However, the majority who had tried to approach her had been turned down with the fist, Zelda had seen so herself, as a display of the bounty hunter's preference towards action rather than words.

Ashamedly, Zelda found Samus' tyrannical presence quite admirable. Never before had she seen a woman who commanded so much respect, who was viewed so highly, who fought with such courage and skill and achieved such success as a result.

And then the Hylian recalled the sight of Samus standing over her, single-handedly protecting her from Ike's incoming attack, and with a small grin added heroism to the list of the bounty hunter's attributes.

Samus was unreal.

And yet there she was, in all of her golden-suited glory, standing outside the door of her room whilst Zelda casually stared in awe from the other end of the corridor. It quickly occurred to her that Samus' gaze was on the floor again, and she wondered whether the bounty hunter was deprived of any better hobbies. Perhaps she was waiting for someone? No. Samus didn't interact with other people unless it was absolutely necessary, which put her in sharp contrast with Princess Peach, the only other literate female (besides Zelda) currently living in the mansion.

To put the pink-clad princess side by side with Samus Aran would be nothing short of laughable. They were polar opposites. Peach was a sweetly-spoken socialite who thrived on gossip. Samus was quiet and blunt. Zelda thought of herself as somewhere in between, although the scale was beyond the limits of imagination, and so it would have been impossible to determine exactly where. She hoped slightly towards Samus, although that was probably wishful thinking.

She dragged herself out of her thoughts. Her heartbeat had picked up. Samus always did that to her- made her feel dizzy and excited like a stupid child. She was pretty certain it was undignified of a princess to start worshipping other people in such a way, especially violent, ill-mannered ones. But she couldn't help herself, she was just obsessed, and the rush she felt every time the bounty hunter was in the room was inescapable.

She couldn't possibly be…? No. Definitely not. She hadn't told Marth because it wasn't true. It wasn't. It couldn't have been.

Zelda forced herself to look away from the bounty hunter. She moved left and grasped the door handle to her own room. But something made her pause, a soft prickling on the back of her neck. She dared herself to look, and found herself staring directly into the empty visor.

And suddenly her heart clenched, and she was almost knocked of her feet by the surge of thrill and fear pulsing through her. Just to exchange a word with Samus seemed like a dream come true...perhaps she could go over? Perhaps she could apologize for earlier, as she had been so desperate to? But she was paralysed by her own apprehension, and found that eventually, she couldn't quite bring herself to do so. She tore her gaze away, and moved to reach for the door handle again.

_You coward..._

She tugged the door open, and with a final glance over her shoulder, darted inside.

_Tommorow. I'll do it tommorow. _

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><p><strong>AN: Here it is, the long-term SamusX****Zelda fic that a couple of reviewers had requested. I'm mainly doing this because you people are awesome, and I love you XD. As I mentioned, it is going to be quite dark, but that element won't arrive for a while. I decided that I'm going to build their relationship from the ground up this time, rather than speeding in to it. I've tried to include better characterisation and all that jazz to fill this out, so I hope it was noticeable. If not, please mention improvements and such, because who wouldn't want to be a better writer? Now...any more details I was supposed to mention...? Probably, but I've forgotten, so I'll see you guys next chapter :D  
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	2. Pitiful

**_Immeasurable_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Two:<strong> Pitiful_

The eruption on the stage below was powerful enough to hurl all four fighters into the boundary. The drunken group of smashers around Zelda broke into cheers from the stand. She herself laughed, although uncertain of exactly why she was doing so, and not really caring. She felt happy, lightheaded and about two feet taller than she actually was. Who cared about the welfare of the fighters? This was entertainment!

Marth slammed his glass on the arm of his chair and stood up. Zelda jumped out of her seat and found herself following him to edge of the balcony. Once there, she staggered and caught herself on his shoulder. He whined like a child and shrugged her off.

"Look!" he slurred, throwing an arm out to indicate to the stage. "It's Link."

"I know!" she cried. "Isn't he _amazing_?"

It was true. Link was fighting savagely, feeding from the crowd's enthusiasm. As Fox darted at him he ensnared him in his clawshot, slammed his fist into the vulpine's face and kicked him away again, only to flip over Pikachu's volt tackle and spin-attack him into Samus. The mouse made contact with Samus' stomach, and although he was not heavy, he had hit the bounty hunter's recently-healed injury, bringing her down for longer than anticipated.

The smashers jeered at her from the balcony. "What was that, Samus?"

"Pathetic!"

"Bring her down, Link!"

Link bounced happily on his heels. The euphoria was infectious, and he couldn't stop himself giving the crowd a salute before running off to fulfill their demands. This drove them to cheer louder and drum harder on the balcony rim, creating an uncoordinated torrent of noise that only stirred up the chaos.

"Isn't this amazing?" Marth yelled over it all. Zelda nodded eagerly. An uncharacteristically wild grin spread across her face.

"We should do this every day!" she exclaimed, as if it were the greatest idea known to mankind.

"Every day?"

"Every day!"

The pair of them fell about laughing.

Below them, Fox wiped his bloodied muzzle on the sleeve of his shirt and took aim the hero with his pistol. Pikachu zipped in front on him, whipping him from his feet with a shot of electricity before calling a bolt from the sky to strike him off-stage. The mouse glanced quickly about himself and sighted Link. The hero was slashing wildly at Samus, cutting her deep across the stomach. She threw a punch, he ducked, she kicked and he slipped away and around her.

But she was fast, spinning with him in time to have her gun arm directed at his head. She fired at him whilst her other arm tenderly cradled her bleeding midsection. Two shots sent him careering into the stage wall, but he wasn't done in the slightest. He'd sustained little damage during the fight, and hopped to his feet again with ease. Pikachu made to run at him, but was stopped mid-movement.

A soft, multicolored glow had befallen them, and the three looked upward. A smash ball was now present, and the crowd's excitement took flight once more. Everybody knew what it meant. The race was on.

"Who d'you think will get it?" Marth said, nudging Zelda off-balance in an attempt to get her attention. She grumbled at him and righted herself against the wall.

"I think Samus will get it."

"Samus is bleeding though…" Marth mumbled hazily.

Zelda looked confused. "But Samus is…wait, really?"

"Look!" Marth said, jabbing a finger in the huntress' general direction. Although the drink had put off his coordination, Zelda just about managed to follow his finger, even with her own messed up sense of direction.

Samus staggered forward, followed by a thick trail of crimson seeping through her fingers. Link and Pikachu were well ahead of her, engaged in a one-on-one battle to reach the smash ball. The mouse bounced up from behind the hero and sprung from his head, sending himself flying onward towards the smash ball. However, before his paws could land a hit on it, Link's clawshot clamped down on his middle and dragged him backwards again.

The hero whipped the Pokémon to the ground, landed beside him as slashed him into the boundary. Samus' attempt to stop him was countered, and as Pikachu soared away, Link tossed a bomb back at her. She hit the floor hard, cursing furiously at herself. The hero could almost feel her humiliation and anger and she struggled back to her feet, but the audience convinced him that this was a positive thing, and urged him to retrieve the smash ball.

"He's doing _so_ well!" Marth said as he slung his arm around Zelda' shoulder. "You should kiss him!"

"That's disgusting," Zelda stated. "Why is Samus bleeding again?"

"Don't ask me!"

"Look at all the blood…"

"Stop it…I can't see!"

"It's horrible."

"Mo-ove," Marth whined, shoving her aside. She glared at him.

"I don't want to watch this anymore," she said seriously. Marth ignored her. His attention was focused entirely the drama below, which was rapidly playing out towards its close.

Link now stood over Samus, shrouded in a veil of the smash ball's power. His eyes were gold and shone greed for victory. His boots were soaked red. With one, he delivered a kick to her side, relishing the applause that followed. She made no sound to indicate she was in pain, but Link knew better than to try and get one out of her. Besides, he had already won. He had beaten the best of the best.

He really was a hero.

The crowd was singing his name. In all the history of his life, he had never received this much attention for his deeds. He had always shied away from the limelight, but today it had been unavoidable, and he quite happily given in to it. As much as he wanted this moment to last forever, he knew Samus was famous for her comebacks, and that he would have to act sooner or later. Drawing in one last breath of air from the buzzing world around him, he readied his sword, and let the power go.

Zelda lunged for Marth and buried her face in his shoulder. He almost fell backwards under the force of the collision. "What? What?" he said, panicked.

"Don't make me look," she whispered against him. "Please."

Marth just stood there and held her, dazed, drunk and with no idea of what else she expected him to do. Far below, the Master Sword hissed with energy, glowing with every cut it made into Samus' armor. Link hacked away, slowed his efforts to a halt, and glanced up at the stands. Samus was imprisoned. Seeing that her fate was sealed, the crowd gave another burst of applause.

Zelda glanced sadly up at Marth. "Why are they cheering?"

"I don't know," he said.

The crowd ordered Link to finish her.

Link nodded, reared back, and struck out. The single blow was powerful enough to shatter the Triforce, causing an eruption of light that bathed the stage and stands alike. Samus was gone long before it faded. Once it did, the cheers hit an all time high, and Link simply stood there, hardly able to register what he had just done.

"Never again," Zelda said quietly.

"Never again," Marth confirmed, and lead her away from it all.

* * *

><p>After several cups of cold water and something to eat, the alcohol's effect had faded on Zelda. Regardless, she could not shake the lingering misery or the blurred recollection of the fight from her thoughts. She found herself slumping on the table, without much more of an appetite than she'd had yesterday evening. Marth sat beside her, anxiously tucking into his own meal, all too aware that her loss of appetite was starting to become a worrying trend. He too had sobered up, though earlier than she had, allowing him to guide her away from the fight and back into the empty mansion, where she had cried for a while into his shoulder for reasons she could not make coherent to him.<p>

However, the word 'Samus' had come up several times. It would be idiotic by now not to realise that Zelda's curiosity for the hunter ran deeper than she had been prepared to make out. However, he would ask her about that later, after she had returned to good spirits.

"You're not eating that are you?" he said to her.

"I think not," she sighed, and nudged the plate away.

"I have to say, I've never seen you slouch before."

"I ought to get out of the habit, hadn't I?"

"Yes, it's quite unbefitting," Marth said, earning a smile with his exaggerated impression of an upper-class accent. After a couple of moment's silence, he started and set down his cutlery. She gave him a curious look, and after swallowing his food, he explained. "You know, Ike wanted to do some training with me tonight in the gardens- nothing to rough, just a few coordination games. Should be fun, and the more people the merrier, right?"

"You think he'd mind me being there?"

Marth tilted his head. "You haven't met him properly yet, have you? Well he's a really nice guy, I promise. He's a brute, and arrogant because of it, but he makes up for all that with his chivalry. The three of us, plus anyone Ike's invited, should have a great time. I mean, it's really beautiful out there, even more so in the evening."

"And especially in this weather," Zelda added, just about certain of her decision, when an afterthought hit her. She had vowed to apologize to Samus about the battle, and she very much doubted that the hunter spent her time admiring the scenery outdoors. Nevertheless, Marth was her friend, and he was offering her an escape from her troubles. She could catch Samus tomorrow. "I'll be there."

"Glad to hear it. Maybe you'll work up an appetite, eh?" Marth said, and rose to his feet with empty plate in hand. "See you then."

* * *

><p>More smashers turned up than anticipated. Zelda glanced along the row of attendees, sighting not only Ike and Marth but Link, Pit, Fox and Peach. She enjoyed Pit's company and found Fox a kind friend. Peach, although also friendly, could irritate her at times. Being a master of emotion, she never let this show. Only around Marth did she find herself able to display her feelings, and Peach wasn't close enough to gain that kind of trust from her.<p>

Once she had studied the smashers, she turned her attention back to Marth. He was framed in the glow of the evening sun. Wisps of cloud drifted along the sky behind him, which was a magnificent wash of orange and red and blue. He rocked impatiently on his heels, evidently bored of waiting for Ike to return.

It wasn't long before the mansion's main door crashed open again, and Ike edged out with a basket packed to the rim with equipment. "Alright," he called, "everybody head out further; we're going round to the fountain side of the gardens."

Marth darted to her side as the group moved off and spoke quietly to her. "Feeling better?"

"A little," she admitted.

"Well guess what I bought, just in case?" Marth grinned, tucked a hand into a pouch on his belt and retrieved a bright package. "Cheese sticks!" he chimed. Zelda rolled her eyes.

"You're plain cruel. You know I can't resist those."

"Bet you wish you had junk food in Hyrule."

"Oh, definitely not. I'd turn up to the next tournament severely overweight."

Marth chuckled. "Trust me, so would I."

"Hey, you two!" Ike bellowed at them, and noticing the distance at which he stood from them, they quickly realised that they were much farther behind than the others. "If you don't pick up the pace, you're the targets!"

"Targets for what?" Marth said.

"I don't know, but it doesn't sound like much fun," Zelda replied. Marth nodded and the pair broke into a run.

* * *

><p>The evening passed so quickly that everyone was confused when they found themselves in almost complete darkness. The mood was high, and nobody particularly cared that the sun had taken the warmth of their surroundings with it. They continued to splash around in the fountain and toss sopping tennis balls at each other, ignoring the itching reminder that time was ever slipping away.<p>

Zelda, Peach and Link clambered, giggling like children, over the rim and seated themselves in a row against it, allowing the water to drain from their clothes. Wedged in between the two girls, Link slid an arm over each of their shoulders and said dreamily, "Have you ever felt so young?"

"Never!" Zelda laughed. "Not even when I was a child."

Peach wrung her hair out and leaned affectionately into the hero. "I feel as if I could fall in love all over again."

Link chuckled nervously and opted to change the subject. "I'm pretty exhausted now that I come to think of it. Maybe I should head back in."

"That makes sense," Peach said. "You fought so hard in today's battle, I almost mistook you for someone else!"

"I suppose I did feel different. A bit crazy, actually. And I don't think I could have beaten Samus if she hadn't been acting so strangely…"

Peach giggled. "You have Zelda to thank for that!" When a look of puzzlement took Link's features, she sighed and elaborated further. "Samus was stabbed protecting her, and by the looks of things, she hadn't quite recovered before today's fight."

"So that's what it was…?" Link mumbled to himself. Zelda grew cold. "I wouldn't have been so brutal to her if I had known."

"Samus doesn't exactly deserve sympathy, though, does she? She's just an anti-social loner- she doesn't care about anyone but herself," Peach stated. "Besides, Zelda made you look good. You should be thanking her!"

Link glanced to his left, and jerked in shock. "On the subject of Zelda…she doesn't seem to be here anymore…"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Firstly, I'd like to apolgize for not replying to people recently- all my time and attention was on getting this chapter out at a reasonable time. Only recently did I realize I wasn't happy with the idea I had first come up with, and I had to re-write this chapter three times before I was satisfied. I want to make this story both character and plot driven, rather than just one, but that's proving a difficult task for me. I'll get it right eventually... **

**Oh, and I know the whole relationship-building thing is going rather slowly, but I know I'll rush it if I give myself the opportunity, so I hope you don't mind. It will happen soon! **

**Thanks so much to all those who reviewed! You mean the world to me, you honestly do :D. I ought to start listing you guys...that shall happen next chapter, when I'm not rushing!  
><strong>

**Finally, the community is up! The link to it is on my profile, under the 'communities' tab, if you'd like to have a look and maybe subscribe. I mainly created it so that people would be able to know when new SxZ fics were being posted, and also so people can keep tabs on all of their favorite stories. It contains the older SamusXZelda fics too, some of which are real classics. I'd recommend anything by G3rain1- a SamusXZelda legend, although the majority of you have probably already read her stuff, 'cause it's so freaking famous XD **

**There was definitely something else I wanted to say...oh well, this is getting long, so I guess I'll see some of you next chapter :D  
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	3. Uninhibited

_**Immeasurable**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Three: <strong>Uninhibited_

The wind hissed through the shadowed leaves of the trees and engulfed the Hylian in its freezing grasp as she half-walked, half-trudged across the garden. Her emotions had come under too much strain that night, and sensing that the delicate framework of her composure had been near crumbling point, she had made a sly escape from Link and the others, with the whole-hearted intention of returning to the mansion and mulling it over alone.

But alone, she was not. As she rounded the corner of the looming building, a sort of growl echoed out from the distance, pained and half choked back, as if its owner had not intended to draw attention. A twinge of sympathy tugged in Zelda's chest, and she looked back, seeing only the swaying masses of the trees; black silhouettes against a bruised sky. The wind picked up and snuck underneath her clothing to stab her soaked skin. She shivered, and made to trudge on.

Another sound, more human than the last, rang out, stopping her. Someone was swearing, spitting curses over the wind. Zelda whipped around. She looked hard and caught a movement. There was a shadow flitting between the gaps in a dark curtain of leaves. They drooped from a vast weeping willow to form an enclosed space around the trunk, carpeted by dead leaves. The shadow was bulky, and its movements were clumsy and slow. It limped about a bit, cursed again, and slumped against the thick base of the tree.

The moon was emerging, a brilliant pale orb, from the night clouds, and its light began to pour across the grass and the trees. Zelda took an uncertain step forward, and then, as the moonlight flooded in between the leaves of the willow tree, it glinted sharply from the shadow, and the Hylian was struck with a sudden realization.

_So our paths cross again..._ she thought curiously, and took off in the direction of the tree.

* * *

><p>It was a brief stretch across the neatly-trimmed lawn to the willow, and Zelda soon found herself at the edge of the circle, separated from Samus by only a thin layer of leaves. Regardless, the bounty hunter seemed not to have noticed her there, blocking the moonlight. She was sitting in her Varia suit, but, to Zelda's surprise, the helmet was not on her head, but lying discarded at her side. Light golden strands of hair fell around her face, which was a sharp and beautiful as Zelda remembered it- albeit paler and drawn with exhaustion.<p>

The hunter's head rested against the trunk, and her gaze was turned up to the stars, clouded by ache and sadness. She looked tired, lonely, and frighteningly human. Like a fallen god, Zelda thought sadly, and her fingers sought to sweep aside the barrier between them. But then the Hylian stopped herself, realizing it foolish and potentially rude to make such an intrusion. Yet she knew if she left now, she would never forget the way Samus had been sitting there, broken. And she would never forget that she had been so close, so able to offer comfort that the hunter looked as if she so desperately needed.

But she wasn't stupid. She had seen the way people like Samus reacted to gestures of affection. They saw them as a threat, being so unaccustomed to them, and would only erupt with spite. The thought aroused anxiety in the Hylian. She did not want Samus to hate her. Neither did she want Samus to suffer. She had known that the bounty hunter had been suffering since the day she arrived. Her eyes had ever been dull, impenetrable- masking all emotion from the prying gazes of others.

Only people with a lot to hide made efforts to cut themselves off from others, and only lonely people chose to remain that way. Samus had lived through hell, and despite the hunter's façade, Zelda could see it. But what could she possibly do?

She had lived a life the polar opposite of Samus'- a sheltered one in which she was almost never called upon to be self-reliant. She did not understand Samus. There was nothing she could do to help her. Zelda turned away.

A sharp cry spiked the air. The Hylian's gaze shot back again. Samus was tense, face wrought in agony, her metal encased fingers clawing subconsciously at the bark of the tree behind her. She gasped in fast, ragged breaths and looked as if she were struggling not to writhe against the unseen pain entrapping her. Without a second thought, Zelda plunged through the leaves and ran to Samus' side. The Triforce of Wisdom awoke at her panic, tingling and pulsing on the surface of her hand. She knelt, scanning the hunter for the source of the pain, utterly focused. Samus did not register her presence- her eyes were squeezed shut and her attention on drawing in air.

When Zelda saw nothing on the surface that might be causing such agony, she set her palm before the hunter and used her consciousness to graze through Samus', searching for an internal source using the Triforce's power. She opened her mind to the oncoming wave of images and feelings.

_The suit…blood…the suit…healing…pain...her gut…pain…blood...cut…black eyes-_ Zelda snapped her mind's eye shut at the last picture. She had obtained the information she needed, and the final image had caused fright to erupt inside her suddenly, although she hadn't time to dwell on what exactly it had been. She caught her breath and placed both hands on Samus' injured midsection. Of course, the cuts on the metal were no longer visible- the suit was biomechanical and fixed itself faster than skin- but underneath Samus' injuries remained.

It wasn't the injuries that were causing so much pain, but rather the suit. Somehow, it was patching up the deep welts Samus had gained from today's match on top of her recently healed stab wound, and very coarsely. Zelda called upon a healing spell that had been drilled into her since she was young- it was simple but very effective, and required little of her energy. The sparks crackling from her fingertips did the suit's job for it, and without hurting the bounty hunter further. In seconds it was all over again.

Samus breathed a heavy sigh, and slumped back, face dripping with sweat, against the trunk of the tree. Her eyes flickered open. Had the pain really knocked her half-unconscious? Zelda's instinctive repulsion towards modern technology rooted itself deeper.

"I saw you…" Samus said suddenly, eyeing Zelda with a hint of delirium. "In my head."

Zelda grinned at the hunter's childlike tone. "I saw you too."

"Oh," Samus threw her head back again. She stayed like that for a while, mouth forming silent words, probably talking to herself, Zelda figured, and wondered what the cause of this odd behavior was. Perhaps Samus had come out here to drink before the pain had taken a hold of her? The smell of the hunter's breath answered that one for her.

Frowning, Zelda glanced around the hunter and sighted a couple of cider bottles lying empty beside the helmet. But there was something else. She leaned over Samus and sifted through the leaves with her hand until it came to rest on what she had been looking at. She lifted a much smaller bottle out of the soil and raised it close to her face until she could just about pick out the shapes of the letters on it. It was a bottle of antidepressants. She looked back at the bounty hunter sadly, lost for words.

The hunter gave a low mumble. "Am I dreaming?"

"No," Zelda replied, trying not to sound as upset as she felt. "Do you want me to help you back?"

"Don't." Samus became deathly pale. Fear dilated her pupils. "Don't make me go back."

"I mean-"

"You already sent me…you already sent me there. You gave me the money."

"What are you talking about?"

"I know she isn't dead…but I don't want to look at her again. I can't-"

"Who?" Zelda said softly, shuffling closer. "Who don't you want to look at?"

"The eyes," Samus said blearily, and Zelda recalled the final image that had hit her whilst she had been sharing Samus' thoughts. She felt the urge to press Samus for further information, but she rapidly dismissed it, realizing it to be a bad time. She was almost numb from the cold, and it was getting later and later by the second. The others would be curious as to where she was. She slid towards Samus and took hold of her shivering hands.

"We need to go," she said.

"Go where, home? Hah…" Samus smirked grimly. "No such thing as a home."

This was going to be a long night, Zelda sensed. "Smash Mansion. Over there."

"Can't see…" Samus grumbled. She slid her hands out of Zelda's grasp and waved them in front of her. "All those shadows are in my damn way."

Zelda grabbed Samus' hands again, and with a little leverage on her side, managed to hoist her to her feet. She quickly slipped her arm under the hunter's to prevent her falling again, and felt a surge of affection and sadness when the hunter drunkenly thanked her. "Come on," she sighed. "I'll take you there."

* * *

><p>It was an odd experience, to be supporting Samus. Never in her life had Zelda seen her so vulnerable. Then again, the night had thrown many of her previous assumptions out of the window. She had never thought Samus as one to drink. Alcohol lowered your guard, and Samus' guard was everything to her- it upheld her like a second skeleton. Or a third, if you counted the suit as being one.<p>

Skeletons. As if Zelda wasn't shaken enough. She shuddered, and with one arm struggling to support Samus' almost dead weight, she reached for the door handle to the mansion. With a tug, the door swung open, and they were bathed in artificial light. Samus groaned quietly.

"Hurts," she mumbled, shielding her eyes.

"Come on, it's alright," Zelda urged gently, tugging her forwards. Samus must have developed a trust in her, because she allowed herself to be lead- another thing Zelda never imagined her doing. Then again, she was completely off her head. How much alcohol had she taken in? Exhaling heavily, Zelda helped her through the doorway.

"Where's my house?" Samus questioned.

Zelda couldn't restrain a smile. "I believe you're referring to your room."

"Hm, yeah…if y'want to say it like that," Samus replied. "Let's go, sexy."

"My name is Zelda. Not sexy."

"Fine," Samus huffed as she was dragged along the hallway. "Can I call you…pretty?"

"No."

"Beautiful?"

Zelda opened her mouth to retort with the same answer, but was caught mid-way by the realization of what Samus had just said. "What do you mean?"

"You're…nice looking," Samus said. Zelda raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the heat tingling there- she was blushing. That was stupid, though. It was only a compliment…

"You can't call me any of those," the Hylian answered sternly. "My name is Zelda."

"Sounds nice. Good choice."

"I didn't choose it," Zelda chuckled.

"I know, I know," Samus protested. "No need t'say it all like that…'m not stupid."

They were approaching the corridor along which both of their rooms were situated, but there were voices nearing them, and Zelda for one didn't want to be caught standing there with an incredibly wasted Samus at about half past midnight. Besides, it was against the rules to be drinking past a certain hour, so Samus would be punished and possibly even suspended from attending the mansion. As the voices drew nearer, she tugged the bounty hunter with her into a gap between the corridor's open door and the wall.

They were pressed in to one another, Samus behind and Zelda in front. Samus' breath tickled the back of the Hylian's neck. It occurred to her suddenly how close they were, and before she knew it, the bounty hunter's arms were snaking around her waist.

"Get off," she whispered irritably, trying to break free, which was impossible in the cramped surroundings. Samus chuckled to herself.

"You have funny ears."

"Don't you dare-" Zelda started, but it was too late. Securing Zelda against herself with one arm, Samus reached up to flick the tip of the Hylian's pointed ear. Earning an irritated and rather un-princess-like growl, she did so again, and her smirk grew wider. Zelda wriggled about in vain. "You're incredibly immature," she hissed.

"And you're cute," Samus answered smugly, and continued to fiddle with her ear.

The footsteps grew louder, and were no longer accompanied by voices. Zelda drew in a steady breath and held it, hoping that this didn't mean they were being listened out for. Shapes moved through the open door, but as Zelda glanced out to see who it was, she saw only two people, Link and Marth, standing in the room. She sighed in relief and ordered Samus to let go of her. She must have sounded serious enough, because the hunter reluctantly relinquished her grip.

Zelda then whispered the swordsmen's names, and they turned quickly, startled. Link placed a hand to his chest in relief when he saw her.

"Your Highness...I feared the worst," he said. "Marth saw you leave us. He said you had planned to return to the mansion to get something beforehand, but when you did not rejoin us I..."

"I am very grateful for your concern," she lied, "but there was a rather…" she glanced back to Samus, "…pressing matter to attend to."

Link nodded, without delving further. In truth, Zelda was more grateful to Marth for covering for her. He had been thoughtful enough to keep the true reason for her disappearance to himself. She could see in his eyes that he knew why she had left. That man knew just about everything. He smiled and gestured to Samus.

"What's going on with her?" he asked politely.

"Samus was having a bit of trouble…" Zelda said, trailing off in her search for an excuse.

"I couldn't find my house," Samus stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Zelda gave up. "She's drunk."

"Uh-oh," Marth said. "We'd better let you get her out of here. Link and I were only up so late because we were searching for you, but now that's over with, we'll head off too. Nighty-night."

And before Link could open his mouth to protest, Marth tugged him away. Zelda had caught a glimpse of something in his expression as he had turned- a kind of understanding. Perhaps he knew something she didn't? Oh well, at least he'd keep it to himself. She spun on her heel and made her way back to Samus.

"Ready to go?"

"I feel sick."

"Let's get you back to your room then," Zelda said, and looped her arm back underneath the hunter's. She let her weight fall back on Zelda, evidently tired. Once the pair had reached Samus' room, she staggered to the door herself.

"Are you sure you'll be OK?"

"No. But I don't want you in here," Samus said, speaking in an authoritative tone, which was ironic in reference to her state. "Things 'n here delicate ladies shouldn't see."

Though Zelda didn't class herself as such, she still wondered what Samus might be referring to. "If you're sure."

"Sure," Samus repeated, and gave a clumsy tug on the door handle. "I'll miss you."

"I'm sure you will," Zelda said kindly, as Samus slunk into the darkness. Now alone, the night's revelations leapt upon her and drew her into a daze. She could barely believe it. Was it really possible that Samus housed feelings for her? She bit her lip, feeling stupid and childish and somehow exposed. She decided she would go to bed, despite not feeling the burden of exhaustion as heavily as she had expected to, and think it all over in the morning.

Heck, was she going to have some interesting dreams tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finally, they interact! However, Samus is definitely not herself in this chapter XD. Development will be happening in the next couple of chapters. I have now ascertained how I'm going to go about building this, so prepare for progress!**

** Now, time to thank the epic reviewers:- Tripower, finalsmash700, le-petit-guerrier, darkwaffleofimpendingdoom, JellyfishBlues and TheNomade5. Huge thanks for reviewing the last chapter! Oh, and plus, thanks to:-Anachronox64, Courage-Red Twilight and Swords Divine Light, for reviewing this fic too. I hope you'll stick around to see how this turns out :D **


	4. Beginning

**_Immeasurable_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Part I: Bridging the Gap~<em>_  
><em>**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Four: <strong>Beginning_

The dreams weren't interesting. They were frightening.

That night Zelda witnessed things beyond definition. She watched the malicious eyes of blurred shadows snap open behind the glass of stasis tanks. She saw the dead for the very first time, splayed about in dark corridors like puppets cut from their strings, staring empty-eyed into the darkness. She stood alone in the poison of a silent, bleeding world, and for once in her life, felt a fear that she could not contain.

Waking was a blessing. She sat up, sighed out a quivering breath, and murmured feverish thanks to the goddesses. For several hours she sat in darkness, until her fear gave way to exhaustion, and she slipped back into a lighter, dreamless sleep.

When she woke again, it was because of the morning light streaming in through the gap in the curtains. She forced herself upright, and slowly, her thoughts began to reorder themselves. It was then that she was hit by a sickening realization. The nightmare had not been hers. She sifted back through her memory and fixed her mind's eye on one of the most striking images she had seen during her dream: a creature adorning a dark navy suit, staring keenly back at her through an empty visor. It had looked like Samus. She could not have envisaged such a monstrosity herself- the only place that belonged was in the bounty hunter's memory.

When she had been searching the Samus' subconscious earlier on in the night, she must have, she realised bitterly, allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. She had ploughed too deep, and in doing so, formed a connection with the Triforce's power. A weak connection, maybe, but enough to let her into Samus' mind for twelve hours every night.

She laid her forehead on her fingertips and gave a growl of irritation. Of course she had wanted to know more about the bounty hunter, but this was too much. Samus' life would eventually overwhelm her. The events it encompassed were simply too disturbing for her to cope with- admittedly, it was a lot more sinister than she had first assumed. She would have to break the connection again.

But that would involve getting near enough to Samus to do so, and furthermore, gaining her trust. After the events of last night, she doubted the hunter would be willing to speak with her again. She was probably afraid of what Zelda might have learnt about her, and would be making efforts to avoid her. That wasn't going to get in the way of the Hylian's opportunity to put right her mistake, however.

Mentally cursing her own idiocy, she slid out of the bed and went to change. Her gaze brushed the clock's face, which had read something around six in the morning. She would be expected to emerge in an hour- this would get her ahead of the game. She would find Samus before Samus had time to get away from her.

She had no particular plan in mind as to how she might begin interaction with the anti-social hunter, but she didn't particularly care. She was still shaking a little from the recollection of the nightmare, and in all truth, her fear of it had driven her to a point of desperation. She never wanted to see what she had seen again, and if that was to happen, she would have to act quickly.

Once dressed, she slipped out of the room and made for the first potential area that popped into her head- the garden. Samus probably wouldn't be awake yet, especially not after having so much to drink the night before, but the Hylian was pretty sure that it was the first place Samus went in the morning. She was never seen in the cafeteria with the rest of the smashers at breakfast time, and Zelda had seen her once or twice through the window in the early hours of the day, practicing technique out in the more secluded section of the garden. Those without keen eyesight would have easily missed her, and now Zelda came to think of it, that was probably her intention.

The Hylian would wait there for as long as she felt reasonable, and if the hunter didn't turn up, she would go elsewhere. It wasn't the most intricate plan, but then Zelda didn't imagine Samus to be particularly devious- smart, perhaps, but not enough to evade her for the rest of the day.

* * *

><p>It was cold outside. The crisp air nipped at her skin, waking her into a deeper sense of alertness. It was still dim, but that failed to mask the bulky outline situated behind a cluster of trees far off to her left. So she had been wrong all that time. Apparently hangovers didn't get in the way of Samus Aran's training regime. Zelda was hit with euphoria and nervousness at the same time. She could get this over quickly if she played her cards right, and be rid of Samus' presence in her life once and for all. But was that what she truthfully wanted…?<p>

The question was a mere obstruction, she quickly decided, and she pushed it to the back of her mind before setting off in the hunter's direction.

* * *

><p>Samus was flawless. Closer now, Zelda could do little but stare on in amazement at the scene playing out before her.<p>

The hunter was training with just a sandbag, but using moves the Hylian had never seen in her life. She flipped the it into the air with a fluid kick, jumped, struck out at it, caught it in mid-fall with her grapple beam and blasted it to the floor again with her gun arm. It landed with a sad _thud_ on the grass, only to take a flurry of perfectly executed punches and be kicked into a nearby tree. It went ignored as it slid down the trunk and landed face-first back in the dirt. Samus had seemed to lose interest in it suddenly. Instead she had deactivated her suit and seated herself in the grass. Zelda hadn't seen her in her Zero Suit since the beginning of the tournament. She usually went round in normal, looser clothing rather than such tight fitting material.

The sight roused a strange thrill in Zelda. She found herself blushing again, and had to look away for a moment to catch her breath. Samus was…developed, to say the least. She felt stupid for letting that excite her, it was preposterous to look at anyone that way, surely. After all, Samus wasn't doing anything to provoke those feelings, she was just sitting here with her eyes closed, meditating, it looked like.

Besides, now was her chance. She had waited long enough. Sure that she had overcome the last of the light-headedness, Zelda stepped out into the open and cleared her throat. Samus' eyes opened rapidly, catching the Hylian off guard. Zelda stopped breathing, and the excitement swelled up inside her again.

"Yes?" Samus requested dryly.

The Hylian broke a nervous smile. "I suppose you're wondering whether this is about yesterday."

The hunter tensed, but her features betrayed no emotion. "You're better off forgetting it."

"You think so?" Zelda said.

"People like you shouldn't know what I do," Samus replied bluntly, before adding, "and shouldn't try to."

"People like me...do you have me under a category?" the Hylian pressed, genuinely curious.

"I don't know. You're royalty aren't you? That's what I meant." Samus' dialogue lacked any element of grace or feeling. Sometimes there were brief pauses between words that unearthed the flow of the sentence- it was almost as if communication was a task in itself. It was saddening, somehow.

"I see," Zelda said kindly. "Well I wasn't here to talk about yesterday, so I apologize for giving that impression. In fact, there is a different matter I have been hoping to discuss with you."

Samus watched her patiently. Under the scrutiny of her empty eyes, Zelda felt her mind reel. This was it. She would have to admit what she had done. It wasn't as if Samus would care; it seemed as if emotion were a thing lost to her. Something that had been torn from her centre a very long time ago. Surely though, that couldn't have been completely true. Yesterday, Samus had smiled and frowned and held her close, and even told her that she was...

Zelda cut the thought off. What Samus had said last night counted for nothing. But if it did- if Samus was hiding so much from her, so many terrible things, was admitting that she shared a telepathic connection with her really the best idea? Wouldn't it just put her further on edge? What the hunter didn't know couldn't hurt her, after all.

The Hylian smirked as a different idea seized her; a crazy, illogical idea that was most certainly not part of the plan. The Hylian toyed with it momentarily, but she only found herself more drawn to it, despite the fact that it was the stupidest thing she had ever devised. She took an anticipatory breath, and for the first time, let her heart speak above her mind. "I don't suppose you're taking part in the upcoming tournament?"

Samus remained blank as ever. "What's that to you?"

"I have my reasons."

"Well I'm not."

"Then…" Zelda mused slowly, "…would you train me for it?"

There was a stunned silence before Samus finally uttered, "Why?"

"You're the most talented fighter."

"Doesn't mean I do favors."

"This isn't a favor per se," Zelda said, finding her rhythm now. "All I want from the upcoming tournament is a better reputation. I don't need the money prize."

"You think I need it?" Samus said.

"I know you need it. Why else would you be here, wasting your time amongst those you dislike?"

"How do you know that?"

"You don't make much effort to hide it."

Samus considered this briefly. "Maybe not. So how much would I get if you won?"

"All of it. You need it and I don't, so it only seems fair."

Samus stood up. At her full height, she was rather intimidating, even without the Varia suit on. The Hylian would have attributed most of that to her toned frame, which was, whilst more discreet than one would have expected, still overbearing. Her eyes raked every feature of Zelda's face, and it took enough courage not to look away. After a long moment's decisiveness, however, she appeared to have settled on an answer.

"Alright. Meet me in the gym at six tommorow."

"Evening or morning?"

"Morning, and don't expect me to go easy on you."

Zelda grinned. "I won't."

The hunter nodded, although her face remained expressionless. In a flash of gleaming amber, her suit re-materialized around her, and she turned and headed back to the mansion.

Maybe Zelda had just signed herself up for something she hadn't wanted to particpate in in the first place, but by her judgement, this was entirely worth the consolation. She had just been given the opportunity to spend the next few weeks with Samus.

She wasn't looking forward to going back to sleep again, seeing as she had foolishly missed her opportunity to break the seal between them, but she was pretty sure that the way things were going, that would be sorted soon enough.

In fact, things seemed set to turn out just fine.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So sorry for the late update. The exams are condensing into one large cluster for me now, so it's pretty much non-stop work (which partly consists of writing regardless). It also doesn't help that I'm not supposed to be using the laptop. Anyways, until the end of the month there won't be an update because I need to focus on my exams, but in July there will be a longer chapter (because I know this was a lot shorter, again a result of exams), one which I am looking forward to writing (so it should hopefully make up for the wait). **

**I was really amazed at the number of people who reviewed the last chapter, thank you so much to: Swords Divine Light, le-petit-guerrier, Darkwaffleofimpendingdoom, Tripower, TheNomade5, finalsmash700, The-Intensity, PrincessSerenity101 and ghoanferw. Even if I didn't get to reply to everyone, you should know that your comments are really uplifting for me, and that I'm very grateful to have you all as readers :)  
><strong>


	5. Closer

_**Immeasurable**_

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Part I: Bridging the Gap~<em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Five:<em>** _Closer_

Everything _had_ seemed to set to turn out fine, but seven days under Samus' coaching had proved the latter thought to be a horrible misinterpretation. And it was on the seventh day of training under the bounty hunter that Zelda had been unable to suppress her frustration at Samus, and had gone to Marth for advice.

More accurately, she had kicked down his door at seven in the morning and stormed inside without regard for whether he was awake or not.

"I cannot take it _anymore_. I swear I will _kill_ that woman if I see her again!"

Marth, having only just woken up, was perched on the rim of his bed, staring wide-eyed back at her. A monster might have well have torn the door from the frame and thrown it directly at his head for all the confusion and terror on his face.

"Zelda…" he mumbled, blinking. "…what the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about!" she snarled at him, taking an angry stride forward. On instinct, he shuffled back.

"I know this might be a sensitive question but…have you _utterly_ lost it?"

"You know what? I think I have. That's the effect of been trained, or should I say, insulted repeatedly for seven days by some arrogant, tactless, shallow-minded idiot that cares about nothing related to your safety or mental wellbeing!"

"So...that means?"

The furious glint died in Zelda's eyes as she realised that Marth really did have no idea what she was talking about. "I never told you, did I?"

"No!" he almost shouted at her, but managed to keep a little self-restraint for the sake of those still sleeping. She sighed lengthily and dragged herself toward the bed. He watched, his gut twisting anxiously, as she dropped herself beside him. Luckily, her unexplained temper seemed to have burnt itself out, and it was now he saw how tired she looked. Her hair was unsettled, almost straggly, and there was cold sweat glistening on her deathly white brow. "You don't look like you've slept," he commented, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"I suppose I should have told you earlier…" she sighed, "…that I've entered the upcoming tournament."

"What? Zelda, that's a _week_ away! And you never enter the actual championship tournaments!"

"I know. If it's any consolation, I think this was one of the worst decisions I ever made. Samus is a horrible coach."

"Bit too tough, is she?"

Zelda shot him an angry look. "No. She's just incredibly rude and insensitive."

"How?"

"Let's see…she pushes you until you're half dead, and then she tells you you're not good enough. Every-single-time. It's as if she's incapable of putting herself into your situation. Oh, and personally, I'm quite sick of the specific insults to my capabilities."

"Which entail?"

"According to Samus, I barely know my left hand from my right, I have an unnaturally slow reaction time, I don't have any sort of motivation to win, I lack the faintest warrior instinct, I'm too uncoordinated to land a serious hit on any kind of opponent, real or not, and the best tactic in battle for me would be to let everyone else battle it out and attack when they're weak, because I don't have the stamina to last through a proper fight. Ah yes, and all in all, I have a seven-point-five percent chance of winning; the majority of that finely-calculated percentage being owed to the possibility of one of the best fighters being in some way handicapped upon entering the tournament."

Marth couldn't suppress a quiet bout of laughter. Zelda frowned at him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you feel bad but…that it quite funny."

"Not after a week, it isn't."

"Look, Zelda," Marth said, taking a more sympathetic tone, "you have every right to feel upset. I'm sure I would. But you've got to remember, as worn out as you are, that Samus doesn't know she's insulting you. She thinks she's just telling the truth, and she doesn't see the harm behind it. She's not a naturally empathetic person."

"I realise that," Zelda said tiredly. "And in retrospect, I should have been more thoughtful myself, but…I suppose…I haven't slept…"

Marth smiled. "Yeah, I'd say that's mostly why you feel like this. Besides, I think part of you is angry for a different reason all together, and before I say this, don't get me wrong-"

"What? Why…?"

"I think you're disappointed with her. You really hoped that as uncaring as she seemed, she might have made an effort for you." Zelda shifted uncomfortably beside him and looked away. Marth ducked around her to catch a glimpse of her expression. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"You're always right," she said, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

"And you wanted her to care for you because you…you care about her, don't you?" Marth watched her for a reaction. She kept her gaze low. "You know what I mean. Don't deny it."

"I'm not denying it. I knew you'd figure it out eventually. You always do. I'm just scared now that you know it…you don't…think of me any differently for this, do you?"

"For you having an attraction to someone? Zelda, I'm your _friend_," Marth said, giving her a gentle shake. The action summoned an indefinable smile to her face, one that hinted relief and misery at the same time. "In fact, if that's the reason you entered the tournament, then my advice would be to carry on. Keep that composure of yours, give her a chance, and you never know. Maybe she'll pull through. But if not, you can always come back to me and talk about it."

She slid her fingers in between his and squeezed his hand. "Thank you."

"No problem. Look, why don't you forget training for today and go get some rest? Samus can wait until tomorrow," Marth said.

Zelda stood up. The movement sent light-headed exhaustion washing over her. "Yes, I'm sure she can. I'll see you later on, then?"

"As long as you don't sleep through the entire day."

She gave him a grateful smile and went to leave him in peace. As the door was pushed to, Marth groaned in relief and collapsed back on to his mattress, finally able to catch up on the precious hours of sleep he'd been deprived of.

* * *

><p>Back in her room, Zelda quickly found herself drifting off, even before she had reached the bed. It was lucky, then, that she didn't throw herself on it before sighting Samus, who was already splayed out across the duvet in casual wear, one arm tucked behind her head, the other raising a book to her face.<p>

The Hylian very almost jumped back, but calmed the resulting explosion of panic that hit her with the rational consideration that she may have already fallen asleep, and could just have been dreaming.

A double take of the scene proved that theory to be wrong, however. Samus had genuinely strolled into her room uninvited and start reading '_The Road to Reason' _as if the book was actually hers.

"If it's quite alright with you, I was planning on using that bed," the Hylian snapped. Samus' eyebrows raised themselves in a gesture of acknowledgement. She finished reading her page, and then lowered the book again, taking such a casually slow pace that Zelda almost reached out and removed the book from her hand by force. The hunter placed it down on the bedside table, careful not to disturb the other items there, and returned her attention to the Hylian.

"I don't understand this…joke…of yours," Zelda said, staring daggers into the hunter's eyes.

"It's no joke. I'm here to talk," Samus said matter-of-factly, and readjusted her position on the bed so that she was sitting upright. "Because…obviously, you sort of…stormed out in the middle of training, and so I must have been doing something wrong."

"You finally realised…"

"Yeah, alright, it's taken me a while, but your friend knows what he's talking about when he says I've got a different way of thinking to the rest of you here."

Zelda's eyes widened in horror. "You were _listening_ to our conversation?"

"Well what else was I supposed to do? You ran off, and I…I wanted to know what was wrong," Samus admitted with an air of discomfort.

"How much did you hear?"

"Not all of it. Mostly just the part about you wanting to kill me."

"Oh…" Zelda muttered, her features softening mildly. "I didn't mean that, by the way. Well I partially did, but-"

"Forget it," Samus said with a dismissive wave. "I'm used to it. What I really want now is to start over. We've got a week and we're nowhere. That means we need a change in tactics. I've been training you the way my mentors trained me. I guess if I'd thought harder about it I'd have realised that it was the wrong way to train you. You're a lot different…I don't think you find criticism as useful."

"Or in truth, I don't take it as well," Zelda said shamefully. Samus was making a real effort to be polite to her this time, now that she had realised how much more sensitive the Hylian was in comparison to her.

"I guess you could say that," the hunter replied. "But I will adapt for you. I know I can. I want us to succeed in this."

"You're very determined."

"I have to be. Determination is the difference between life and death."

"Or victory and loss," Zelda said. Samus nodded slowly. "In that case, perhaps we should continue training."

"We can go easier this time," Samus said. "And afterwards, I have something that you can take for your sleeping problem."

"I would be very grateful," Zelda said, genuinely relieved. She wasn't sure if it would have any effect on the nightmares themselves, but at least it might free her from the exhausting cycle of drifting in and out of sleep, from being trapped in a state of partial and terrified awareness throughout the night. "Would you mind starting now?"

"You're the one that stormed out."

Zelda gestured to the door. "Then if you don't mind, I think I'd like to make up for it."

* * *

><p>For the next hour, the pair worked well together. Samus made every effort to be tolerant, and Zelda's knack for picking up technique quickly even earned her an awkward compliment once in a while. Slowly, Samus' moves began to root themselves into her subconscious, and she realised that she was beginning to develop an deeper understanding of them.<p>

Once ten moves had been covered thoroughly, Samus brought the session to a momentary halt.

"Alright, those are the basics- punches and blocks. Show me each one I've taught you and then we'll move on," Samus instructed her. She stood opposite to the Hylian, arms folded, gaze sharp and calculating as she studied Zelda's movements.

The Hylian threw a punch with her right fist, only to have it snatched up by the hunter.

"Not quite fast enough. You'll get more power behind it if you push your weight into it," Samus told her, dropping her fist and stepping behind her. Zelda just about resisted the urge to flinch as two hands appeared at her hips suddenly. "Strike again."

She did so, and at the same time, Samus gently pushed her hips so that she moved with the punch. "See how that might do more damage?"

Zelda nodded, but could barely find a voice to reply with. The hands holding her were painfully careful, almost tender- Samus' touch was sapping her concentration. It was half a relief and half a disappointment when they were withdrawn again.

Moving opposite her again, Samus gestured for her to continue. She completed the rest of the moves, only to have minor adjustments made to her posture or technique. By the end, a look of satisfaction was struggling with the hunter's features.

"That was…good. Yeah. I think it's better we start from basics and build from there. You look like you need a break, though. You want to sit down for a minute?" Samus said.

"If you wouldn't mind," Zelda said. She moved to go and seat herself against the gym's wall, but Samus dragged a chair in from outside the room and offered it to her instead. She accepted it with a weak thanks and slunk tiredly into it.

"I'm gonna go and get a coffee. You want one?" Samus asked from the doorway.

"If I knew what one of those was…"

"You've never heard of…? Sorry, where are you from again?"

"Hyrule. We're about two hundred years behind this world," Zelda said, amused at the hunter's incredulous tone.

"Figures. Maybe you'll trust me when I say you need one?"

"Go ahead. I'm sure I do."

Samus nodded and vanished. A sleepy haze fell over Zelda's eyes. Wearily, she wondered what had caused such a change to come over the hunter. Samus had been far colder before. No helpful gestures had been offered, no words of encouragement, and especially no breaks had been permitted. Was that how Samus had been trained? Who had her mentors been? Zelda's knowledge on the hunter came in fragments- she had little possession of information that actually made sense. All the week's nightmares had shown her were more hellish wastelands, more lonely corridors, machines and creatures that surpassed her understanding, and little else that she could relate to.

There was also another question poking at the back of her mind, but she didn't have time to consider it before Samus bustled back inside, a cup in each hand. She walked over, handed one over to the Hylian, and lowered herself carefully to the floor beside her.

Zelda could barely help herself. She had to ask the question what had been mystifying her for the past hour. "Do you read?"

"Read?" Samus repeated. "Not really."

"I wouldn't have thought so."

There was a brief silence. Samus was staring into her cup with brooding, thoughtful eyes. Zelda took a sip of the dark liquid and was strangely endeared by the bitter tang it left. She considered giving an explanation for her question, realizing that it might have sounded a bit random, when Samus spoke up again.

"Did you ask because I was reading your book?" Her tone was vaguely amused.

"I didn't see you as the type to enjoy such things."

"It's not that I don't like them. I just don't understand them, and most of the time I don't have access to them. If I'm gonna be honest…" Samus sighed, looking a forlorn suddenly, "I've only finished one."

"What was it about?" Zelda asked.

"Just people going crazy and killing themselves. Well, not people specifically…but yeah, that was pretty much it. Made me cry all night when I was a kid. Don't know why now. I never really understood the meaning of it anyway."

"Sounds…pleasant."

"It was interesting. Stopped making me cry a while back, though."

Zelda took another few drinks and set the cup down by her feet. "Would you like to borrow my book? You seemed to be pretty immersed in it."

Samus appeared stunned by the offer. "You wouldn't mind?" Zelda shook her head. "Then yeah I'd…I'd like that."

"You say you don't really understand books. If that's the case, then by all means, come to me and ask about it when you get stuck. I've read the whole thing through, and I've had plenty of time to think it all over. Besides, it's quite a conceptually difficult piece."

"I'm not five. I don't need help reading," Samus said, although her words lacked bite. There was quiet shame lingering in her gaze as she lowered it back to her cup.

"Struggling with complicated literature doesn't make you an idiot. You're no idiot, Samus."

"You seemed to think I was…"

For a moment the statement was lost on Zelda, but a quick skip through her memory brought the grim recollection that she had in fact, in her fit of anger, called the hunter just that. How petty the word had seemed back then, but evidently it was a word that struck a different chord, a deeper and more painful chord, with Samus than she could have envisaged.

"Again…" the Hylian began weakly, "I did not actually mean it. But I'm sorry, regardless. Very sorry."

"I've also done things that I didn't mean to, so I guess I can't blame you for what you said. It was my fault you were pissed off in the first place."

"So, am I forgiven?"

"If you're forgiving me."

"I am."

"Then so am I."

A smile crept onto Zelda's face. She raised her cup. "To all quarrels being put aside, and to a better week ahead."

Samus gave an exasperated sigh, but raised her cup to meet Zelda's nonetheless. She then downed the rest of her drink and laid it aside whilst she clambered to her feet. "Alright, you've had long enough. Time to get started again."

* * *

><p>The hours breezed by after that. Samus was becoming more easy and relaxed in Zelda's presence, which allowed them to strike up casual conversation every now and then whilst they worked. The Hylian held her tongue when the urge came upon her ask questions. Whilst they were becoming friendlier, Samus hadn't let her guard down completely. For someone whose concentration was instinctively set on hiding their feelings, the hunter was definitely improving, though. Zelda's attempt to perform a kick whilst wearing a dress rapidly brought an amused smirk to her face, which she didn't even attempt to suppress.<p>

"I think, from now on, you'll need to wear something you can actually move in," Samus said, stooping to help the embarrassed Hylian up. Zelda took her hand, nodding regretfully.

"I don't have much else," she admitted. "I wasn't allowed to wear or buy anything other than formal wear when I was younger, and I was given nothing else. I've never particularly liked these dresses anyway…"

Samus gave her an odd look. "You don't think they make you look beautiful?"

And then she appeared startled suddenly, and quickly removed her hand from Zelda's, having realised that she hadn't let it go yet. Warmth flooded the Hylian at the comment, although she could sense Samus' horror at having let something so obvious slip off her tongue. She resolved to act as if she had missed the hunter's meaning.

"Well, I'd prefer something comfortable to something that over-glorifies me. This dress has given off so many bad impressions to people- made them assume that I'm different to them, higher, more important. You'd think I enjoy it but I don't. I'm just a person like anyone else, and to most people's disbelief, I just want to be treated like one."

"My suit's a bit like that. Puts people off me. I guess the thing with me is that I don't mind being distant from people. Most of them are stupid, anyway."

"Am I stupid?" Zelda pressed light-heartedly.

"No, you're…kind of different. Different from what I thought you'd be, at least," Samus replied cryptically, although there was a faint tinge of redness in her cheeks. "Anyway, I think we should stop for today. You'll want to sleep early and build up your energy for tomorrow."

"Before I'm tempted, I'll get the book for you and bring it to your room," Zelda said.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you there- I've just got to clear something up in here first," the hunter stated, without any indication as to what that might be. Although curious, Zelda nodded and went to leave. She could quite easily have stayed and tried to get a glimpse of what Samus was hiding, but she was almost asleep on her feet, and her need to rest overwhelmed her need to explore Samus' secrets.

Besides, she was satisfied enough for one day. She had coaxed out Samus' friendly side- a side that nobody else in the world knew.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, I know this wasn't that exciting, but I wanted this to be more about developing the plot and characters. I'm hoping I didn't lose too much of your attention or bore any of you to death, heh... **

**Reason 1 for the delay in updating: Flu **

**Reason 2 for the delay in updating: I have read through my previous chapters in this and been quite unhappy with some of them. I'm currently very disatisfied with my writing style (mostly after reading other people's better stories) and so with that lack in confidence it's pretty tricky to write anything without hating it. I'll probably get over this soon, though. I have my emo moments and then they go away again XD **

**Thanks a lot to all of you reviewers, especially the ones that have stayed with this through thick and thin (even though it's only been five chapters): le-petit-guerrier, Swords Divine Light, The-Intensity, darkwaffleofimpendingdoom and finalsmash700. I would have run out of inspiration if it hadn't been for your comments, so thank you for that great support!  
><strong>


	6. Understanding

**_...  
><em>**

**_Immeasurable_**

* * *

><p><strong>~<em>Part One: Bridging the Gap~<em>**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Six: <em>**_Understanding_

"How'd you sleep?"

Zelda tried not to look too surprised, although that was hardly what she had expected to hear from Samus when she arrived for the next day's training session. The hunter was leaning in the gym's doorway, clad in the standard leather jacket and loose-fitting jeans, looking back at her with an expression of poorly concealed anticipation.

"Much better, thanks," she replied warmly. "I barely remember lying down before I was out. Your medication is stronger than anything I'm used to. Anyway, I trust you've made a start on the book?"

Samus nodded absently. As she spoke, her eyes dodged Zelda's gaze and began to explore the intricate folds of the Sheikah uniform she was wearing in place of her dress. There was a feverish light in her pupils as they crossed the figure-hugging material, a hunger that the Hylian couldn't quite place. "Yeah, I've started it. It doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. The characters, especially."

"What's the matter with them?"

"I don't know. It doesn't matter that much, anyway. It's just a book."

The Hylian felt a defensive comment leap to her tongue, but held it, deciding to switch the subject for progresses' sake. "We ought to move on. We'll get a lot more covered now that, thanks to you, I've had a proper night's sleep."

"Should do. There's one more set of moves to go through, more complex this time. They're founded on the ones you learnt yesterday, though, so they shouldn't be too much trouble."

"What do we do once I've got those?"

Samus appeared indecisive for a moment. "Guess you'll see," she finally said, and lead her trainee inside.

* * *

><p>As soon as they settled back into their regime, Zelda noticed the steepening complexity of the moves she was being expected to replicate. Still, she picked them up quickly, as was in her nature. Samus was impressed, but she expressed this is in her usual restrained, awkward way- sometimes too distracted by Zelda's form to even notice how quickly the Hylian was consuming the information being fed to her.<p>

There were countless move sets and combinations- so many ways to cause injury. Samus had certainly been taught a lot about how to hold her own, but even after hours of passing this knowledge on, Zelda knew there were moves the hunter was keeping from her. The more brutal holds and strikes, ones that could suffocate and kill instantaneously, ones that she had watched Samus execute in her nightmares, went unspoken of throughout.

They stopped at midday. Samus went and got Zelda a drink, which she took gratefully.

"So," she said, after draining the cup, "what now?"

"We're going out," Samus replied, tilting her head towards the door. Her jacket lay in a creased ebony heap by the wall. Underneath it she'd been wearing a plain white t-shirt, very modest clothing, it had struck Zelda, compared to the towering Varia suit. Now, though, she retrieved the jacket and slipped it back on over the top. Zelda followed her out into the corridor.

"I don't suppose you're planning to tell me where?" she said.

"The garden. We're going to need some more space."

* * *

><p>Raindrops thundered down, puncturing ripples in the surface of a small lake, the bank of which stooped just beside Zelda's foot. She edged away, disliking the idea of becoming colder and more bedraggled than she already was. Samus was a couple of feet opposite to her, cocooned in the mist of the rain but seemingly unaffected by it. She raised her voice above it's hiss.<p>

"What are you waiting for?"

"It's just...are you sure we have to do this now? I don't know if I want to get all...muddy..." she looked with disdain at the waterlogged grass beneath her feet, fully aware of how pathetic she sounded, but not particularly caring at this point.

"Either you make the first move, or I make it for you."

Sighing, Zelda squared herself up, wiped her eyes of the droplets that had settled there, and broke into a run at the hunter. The Sheikah outfit allowed much more fluid movement as she pounded across the field, and she found herself running faster than she'd ever realized she could. She became numb to the icy sting of the rain lashing against her, an untamed ferocity alighting itself in her gut, her mind speeding through the options available to her. So many ways to start a fight...

Samus drew within range. Zelda started to strike out, reconsidered, and stepped around her target instead. But the hunter moved with her, caught her first punch, blocked her second, and gave her a gentle shove in the other direction.

"Almost."

Zelda frowned, too irritated to reply, and threw herself back into the fight. Her kick was blocked, her next two swings dodged, and her attempt to sneak around the hunter foiled. Again, all she received in form of a counter attack was a gentle push, which was somehow more annoying than anything more violent would have been.

"So you just plan to stand there?" the Hylian snapped, lashing out with her fist. "And make a fool of me?" Samus blocked her. "You're not even going to try?" She threw a kick with all of her strength, which, infuriatingly, was ducked. Even the rapid succession of moves she followed up with missed their mark, whatever the force behind them.

The third push was harder, and sent her stumbling back across the slippery terrain. She caught herself, rasping for breath, burning with humiliation. She sent her opponent a poisonous look. Samus gazed evenly back.

"I'm not trying to make you look bad."

An emotional barricade snapped inside Zelda. Maybe it was the result of her everyday life back in Hyrule, routinely bottling her feelings for the sake of the general public, tirelessly providing a strong example for her people whilst anger and misery built up behind her pretense. Maybe it was the fact that try as she might, she wasn't good enough to prove that she could fight, or succeed in doing anything that might lessen the alienation she felt from the rest of the fighters here. Maybe it was because of what Samus had just said and the pure, unwavering indifference she had said it with.

Whatever the cause, the concept of blasting Samus several feet into the air no longer seemed like such an unattractive idea. The quiet squelch of the hunter's footsteps approaching sounded. She straightened up, flexing her fingers discreetly, feeling them tingle with power.

"You going to try again?" Samus asked, not rudely, but with a clear edge of impatience. Zelda turned to face her, and discharged every spark of magic she'd stored up into her opponent's gut.

She felt a rush of cruel satisfaction as the hunter was propelled skyward, which was rapidly followed by dread as she came to terms with what she'd just done. After spending a moment in horrified paralysis, she raced off in pursuit.

Silence. Zelda picked up her pace further, staring desperately through the veil of rain for Samus. There was a fleeting moment of panic as she realized she could see next to nothing, when she heard a thunderous splash, and gasped with relief.

The rainfall slowed, thinning out to reveal a clearer path back to the lake. She walked quickly to its edge, her heart still hammering from the ordeal. Samus was partially submerged in the water, coughing violently as she fought to keep herself afloat. A fresh wave of horror hit Zelda as she realized that magic blast must have injured her, and that she was probably too weak to get herself back to land.

Without a second glance, she hurled herself in after Samus, ignoring the harsh shock of cold as she broke the surface of the lake. She fought her way to the hunter's side, slung an arm around her upper body, and with more effort than she'd used for any other task in her life, pulled her to the bank. It took a painstaking while, but once they were there, Samus managed to evade Zelda's grasp and stagger to her feet, bent double and coughing still, clutching her stomach where she'd been hit. The Hylian flipped on to her back, caught her breath, and then helped Samus the rest of the way up the incline.

The pair of them collapsed in the mud, side by side, staring upward at the darkening sky.

"I'm so sorry..." Zelda breathed, dazed. "I don't know what came over me."

"No, no, that was good," Samus said weakly. "Very good. Better than I've ever seen. But what the hell was it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But I shouldn't have used it. I've been overly emotional of late, and when I'm like that, its power becomes erratic...sometimes greater than I can predict-"

"That was my fault. I pissed you off again."

Zelda turned her head to look at Samus. Her sharp features were soaked and drawn with disappointment. "You don't sound as though you meant to."

"I didn't."

"So back there, all you were doing was trying not to hurt me?"

The hunter nodded. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding how that affected you. People don't make much sense to me."

"I don't blame you. You've lived a long time alone, after all."

"Yep."

They lay in silence for a while, watching a thin line of sunlight split open the clouded surface of the sky. The rain's thrum died down to a whisper.

"Maybe we should go and get something to eat," Zelda said. "It has to be mid-afternoon by now."

"Sure but...is it alright if we eat out here?"

"Of course. I suppose it's that you dislike eating with everyone else," the Hylian sat up, smiling wryly at Samus, who had already risen to her feet. The hunter gave a terse nod, and began to pull off her jacket. Without warning, she opened it out and laid it across Zelda's shoulders. She smiled briefly at the questioning look she received.

"You were shivering."

"I was?" Zelda mumbled, although she could already feel the freezing mud on her clothes sending chills through her body.

"You probably don't realize how hungry you are either. What do you want?" Samus asked.

"What do I-? You're getting food for me? I thought you were supposed to be injured!"

"I'm fine. Now what do you want?"

She sounded genuine enough, and the Hylian was too exhausted to argue further. "Alright. I'll have...that bread...with the cheese and tomato on it. What's it called again?"

"Oh," Samus smiled at the naive enthusiasm in Zelda's voice, "you mean pizza."

"Yes. I love that. And...some coffee!"

Samus raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Pizza and coffee...right."

Zelda beamed at her, and she chuckled quietly to herself as she turned on her heel and headed back into the mansion.

* * *

><p>The clouds were opening. Vast, messy streaks of blue shone amongst the grey, and for the first time in the day, sunlight leaked out across the sodden field. Samus had managed to get her hands on a rugged, patchwork blanket on her trip through the mansion, so she and Zelda were seated on that, at the foot of a tree on the other side of the lake.<p>

She'd also retrieved Zelda's book, and was propped up against the tree trunk, reading it determinedly whilst the Hylian tucked in to her meal.

"Warm food that you can eat with your hands. Truly, a revelation," Zelda sighed, examining her final slice of pizza. "Are you sure you don't want it, Samus? You have to be slightly hungry."

"My suit allows my body to respire and carry out all other necessary functions without intake of food. I already mentioned that, but you weren't listening to me," Samus muttered distractedly.

"You're not wearing your suit now."

"I'm still not hungry."

Zelda shrugged and finished it off herself. She then shook off Samus' jacket, no longer cold, and leant across to read over the hunter's shoulder. Samus seemed not to mind, in fact lowering the book to give her ease of view. "What chapter are you on? I can't quite tell..."

"The sixth. Still don't get it," Samus sighed. She snapped it shut suddenly and, with a dismissive grunt, dropped it on to the wet grass. Frowning with disapproval, Zelda snatched it up and placed it back on the blanket. "Time to start training again, I think." She stood up, taking a couple of strides towards the lake. The Hylian jumped up and followed her.

"You're just going to give in with it, then?" she said.

"I can't understand it. There's no point in persisting with a pointless task," Samus replied, turning to face her with a calm look. Zelda folded her arms.

"So you want to carry on fighting?"

The hunter started to look uncertain, just about able to pick up a strange alteration in the Hylian's expression, but unable to read what it meant. "Yes..."

"What's that?" Zelda exclaimed suddenly, pointing over Samus' shoulder. On instinct she looked round, only to feel herself being shoved backwards into the lake. She resurfaced, gasping, to the sight of Zelda in hysterics. "I always wanted to do that!"

Samus glared up at her.

"What? I thought we were supposed to be fighting!" the Hylian said tauntingly. She waited with a mixture of amusement and nervousness as the hunter swam to the bank and clambered nimbly up it, before heading back towards her, approaching with an unmistakeable air of menace. Zelda held her ground, but soon found herself staring up at the hunter, inches apart from her looming figure.

"So you think that's funny?" Samus muttered. But then a smile cracked on her lips, and in a sudden, rapid, movement, she swept the Hylian into her arms and began to carry her, bridal-style, towards the lake. Zelda broke out into giggles again, squirming without avail to get free.

"You...you put me down! I am royalty! Don't you dare throw me in...don't you dare-" She yelped as she was tossed unceremoniously into the water. It was colder than she'd remembered, but at least the mud caking her clothing came free once she broke the surface. Samus stood above her, fighting back a smirk.

"Smile all you like- I'm not getting out!" she called. "Well, not unless you agree to my one condition..."

"Your condition...?"

"Before we start training again, we spend one hour on the book. Together."

Annoyance flashed across the hunter's face.

"Why is it that you're happy to let me drag you out of a lake, but you can't accept my help with a simple book?" Zelda questioned lightly.

"Fine," Samus replied, raising her hands in exasperation. "One hour. That's it."

* * *

><p>Afternoon drew into evening, and Samus still hadn't noticed the time. As soon as she had (reluctantly) handed the book to Zelda to read aloud, she'd been captivated, asking questions and making increasingly insightful observations as time drew on. They had started over again from the beginning, and Zelda decided to read to the eleventh chapter, the halfway point, before stopping.<p>

"Do you understand the characters now? The reasons why they did certain things?" she asked.

"More than I used to. I still find it kind of hard to empathize with them."

"That's a trick learned through experience rather than skill. I'm afraid empathy isn't one of your natural strengths, but you're definitely getting better at it," Zelda said, closing the book. Samus looked a little taken aback.

"We're done?" she questioned.

"It has been more than an hour, you know. It's been several hours, in fact."

"Oh, shit-" Samus jumped to her feet, glancing across the horizon at the setting sun. She froze for a moment.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"I wish I could stay..." she muttered, and plunged back into action, searching around for her jacket. Zelda sighted it next to herself and handed it up. "I've got a fight tomorrow. Big match against your friend, Link, and a couple of other high-ranks. I haven't even seen what time it is, yet."

"I'm supposed to be under the impression that Link has trained very hard for this particular match."

"So you'll be there?" Samus asked hopefully as she threw her jacket on.

"Without a doubt. I wish you the best of luck," Zelda said, standing to place a hand on her shoulder. "Goddesses forbid if Link hears this, but...I hope you win."

Samus looked lost for words. "You do?"

"You deserve it after all the effort you've put into helping me. It means more than I can express,' Zelda said, reaching out to take Samus' hand in hers. She squeezed it affectionately. "Thank you."

"No problem..." Samus said, placing her free hand gently over the Hylian's and returning a weak smile. Then she pulled back, gave a farewell nod, and set of in the other direction.

Zelda stood in silence under the fading sunlight, watching the hunter's figure grow smaller and eventually disappear around the other side of the mansion. Sighing, she dropped her hand, somehow missing Samus' company already.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Once again, sorry for the month and possibly-a-bit-more wait for this. I've been away for the summer, which has stolen my writing time, but also given me a lot of new ideas. It's just tying them all together into something that's not completely pointless that's the hard bit. I will try my very best to update sooner next time, though.`**

**Again, my mind was blown by how many people reviewed last time, and I can't help but want to thank you all. That'd be: Swords Divine Light, JellyfishBlues, Tripower, TheNomade5, le-petit-guerrier, darkwaffleofimpendingdoom, The-Intensity, finalsmash700 and parasi. I have much love for you all :) **

**I hope this at least partially made up the wait! **

**P.S. Thanks to a certain reviewer for his super in-depth analysis, plus recently reminding me to balance writing with other important stuff. I completed some of my homework, which helped massively with putting me in the right mindset to write this. Great advice as always ^-^  
><strong>


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